A lot of people say that chiggers burrow into the skin. That is why we have such a high level of discomfort when encountering them. That is completely FALSE. Chiggers do not burrow into the skin.
Chiggers are the larvae stage of mites. They have sharp little mouths that digest enzymes into your skin which break down the cells so that they can feed (or drink!). It is that digestive enzyme that really bothers a person. It will sit in the skin after the chigger has released it and intensely get worse as the hours go by, thus causing the reaction of swelling. The swelling reaction can surround the chigger on your skin so much to give the false impression that it has burrowed.
When "chiggers" are adults they feed on plants and don't bother humans. Thank goodness.
Here are some excellent articles for your reference if you would like to read more on these annoying but useful creatures. It's all about the eco-system. Those pseudoscorpions and other soil animals need food too.
Texas A&M:
This one is my favorite breakdown. TA&M always has very informative articles.
Wikipedia:
This is always a fun go to site but may not always have the most accurate information because it is collectively built by users and relies on us to point out if something shows incorrect.
The Missouri Government:
This site can be very interesting to many of my readers who are from the Mid-West.
With Angela O'